Holding and display device



Nov. 25, 1958 J. H. HATCHER aowmc AND DISPLAY DEVICE Filed March 8, 1957United States Patent Patented Nov. 25, 1958 free ' HOLDING; AND DISPLAYDEVICE Joseph H.'Hatcher, New York, N. Y. Application March 8, 1957,Serial No. 644,878 2 Claims. (Cl. 20675) This invention relates broadlyto the art of holding and display devices and in its more specificaspects it relates to such devices which are especially designed forholding and displaying articles of jewelry wherein such articles may beeasily inserted in the device and removed therefrom and while ininserted position are displayed attractively and are're'adily accessiblefor removal therefrom; and the nature and objects of the invention willbe readily recognized and understood by those'skilled in the arts towhich it relates in the light of the following explanation and detaileddescription of the accompanying drawings illustrating what I at presentbelieve to .be preferred embodiments or mechanical expressions of myinvention from among various other forms, arrangements, combinations andconstructions, of which the invention is capable within the spirit andscope thereof.

Itis conventional practice to provide display arrangements for variousarticles of jewelry such as cuff links, rings, bracelets and the likewhere slots are provided in a body of material into which the articlesare inserted so that at least parts of them will be projected above thebody of material for a visual display thereof. Such holding arrangementsare also provided for home use to provide a neat and attractive andeasily accessible means for holding various articles of jewelry.

The holding and display devices of which I am aware and which are now inuse have certain inherent disadvantageous characteristics. of a materialwhich provides for ease of insertion of the articles of jewelry nor doesthe material lend itself to the desired ease of removal of the articleof jewelry. In many cases the body of the device is formed of a fibrousor the like material which may be provided with a plurality of spacedslots into which the articles of jewelry are adapted to be inserted andheld. It will be apparent that such fibrous material bodies arerelatively stififl not resilient and compliant to the degree necessaryfor facilitating the insertion and removal of the articles to bemaintained therein and removed therefrom. It has been one of my purposesto provide a holding and display device for articles of jewelry and thelike which is constituted of a body of relatively soft, compliant andresilient material to ensure ease of insertion of the articles and theirremoval therefrom and to also ensure that the articles will bemaintained or removably wedged therein in the proper and desiredposition so that they will be displayed to the best advantage ormaintained therein to eliminate the possibility of inadvertent removaltherefrom.

The jewelry display and holding devices of the prior art are normallyformed of a fibrous material as mentioned above and for decorativepurposes are covered with some type of attractive fabric coveringmaterial. It has heretofore been necessary to attach such fabriccovering material to the body of the holding and display device by meansof an adhesive or the like. In order to eliminate the possibility of thedecorative covering being torn from the body of the device it has beennecessary to have the covering not only extend over the body of thedevice For instance they are not made but also down into the slotstherein which are adapted to receive the articles of jewelry. It will beapparent that the attachment of the decorative covering to the deviceand within the slots by adhesive is not an easy task, it is costly andtime consuming and in many cases detracts from the appearance of thefinished device due to faulty adhesion of the covering so that a smoothattractive surface is not provided. It will also be recognized thatunless an excellent job of adhesion as to all parts is done the coveringwill under normal use conditions soon pull loose from the body of thedevice.

In one form of my invention I have devised a material which isresilient, soft and compliant for use as the body of the device which isprovided with the slots and which because of its inherentcharacteristics will clutch or clamp the article of jewelry which isinserted in the slots which are provided in the body of compliantmaterial. This material functions in a highly satisfactory manner toclampingly maintain the articles of jewelry inserted in the slotstherein while releasing the articles of jewelry in an easy manner whenit is grasped and pulled from the slot..

. It is a further purpose of one form ofmy invention to provide a bodyof resilient material provided with article receiving slots which isformed of a material having an integral exterior finish or coveringproviding surface which may generally simulate the aforementionedseparate decorative covering materials. Theadvantage of using this formof material will be appreciated when it is recognized that it eliminatesthe need for an extra decorative covering material and also eliminatesthe need for adhesively attaching a decorative covering material to themain holding body of the device. The use of this material for this novelpurpose will reduce the cost of the device and will provide one which ishighly decorative and attractive and will greatly outlast the type ofdevice which is in normal use today.

I have also devised a holding and display device for articles of jewelrywhich embodies the highly desirable compliant and resilient materialwhich may not be produced with the decorative finish or surface. Yet inthis form of my invention I have also done away with the necessity ofadhesively securing a separate decorative covering material to the bodyof compliant material.

Instead I have evolved a novel organization wherein the.

decorative material is keyed or locked in position within the slotswhich are formed in the body and is thereby held in, taut condition overthe Whole exterior surface of the body. The need for adhesivelyattaching the decorative covering to the body is eliminated, hence themanufacture of the device is greatly facilitated and the costs reducedby a design and construction which involves the novel features whichwill be hereinafter described in detail.

I have devised a body for a device of this character which may be formedof a plastic foam which has the compliant and resilient characteristicswhich are desired for this use and which may be'produced with thedesired decorative finish for the surface which is one of the attributesof my invention. As one example from among many I may use a polyvinylchloride open-cell formulation for the plastic foam.

In designing this holding and display device it has been one of mypurposes to reduce manufacturing and assembly costs and I have attainedthis end by using the materials mentioned for the body of the device.The material may be extruded under processes now in use in such mannerthat the jewelry holding slots are formed therein as well as the keyingmeans for maintaining the decorative covering material in properposition on the body and within the slots. It is also within mycontemplation to mold the bodies with the slots and the keying means. Itwill also be apparent that the decorative finish may be formed on theplastic foam under these processes of manufacture and production.

As this description proceeds it will be recognized that I have not onlydevised a holding and display device, certain parts of which may be massproduced for economy of manufacture but I have also devised such adevice which may be quickly and easily assembled by unskilled workers tothereby substantially reduce overall production costs. This was not thecase with prior art devices of this character where considerable slowand relatively difficult hand work was necessary in both production andmanufacture.

With the foregoing general objects, features and results in view, aswell as certain others which will be apparent from the followingexplanation, the invention consists in certain novel features in design,construction, mounting and combination of elements, as will be morefully and particularly referred to and specified hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of one form of my holding and displaydevice.

Fig. 2 is a view in vertical section of the holding and display deviceof Fig. l with parts thereof brokenaway and with an article of jewelrypositioned in one of the slots of the device.

Fig. 3 is a view in vertical section of another form of my holding anddisplay device with parts thereof broken away.

Fig. 4 is a view in vertical section of yet another form of my holdingand display device.

Fig. 5 is a fragmental view in vertical section of the holding anddisplay device of Fig. 4 illustrating the method of attaching thedecorative covering material to the body.

In the accompanying drawings and particularly Fig. 1 thereof I haveillustrated one form of my invention which includes a body which I havedesignated in its entirety by the numeral 1. The body I is formed of aplurality of rectangular elongated blocks 3 each of which is formed ofsponge rubber or the like compliant and resilient material. Each of theblocks 3 is adhesively or otherwise attached to a relatively rigidsupporting base 5 which may be formed of any suitable and appropriatematerial. The blocks 3 are fastened to the base 5 in such position thatadjacent blocks may be slightly spaced apart as will be apparent fromconsideration of the drawings.

Each block 3 is covered with a decorative covering material 7 which maybe a fabric or any other suitable material. The material is preferablyadhesively secured about each block, extending across the top thereofand down the sides and a slight distance inwardly along the bottom as at9. It will be evident that when the plurality of blocks of compliant andresilient material are assembled in side by side relation on thesupporting base 5 the very narrow areas or slots between adjacent blockswill be defined and substantially filled by the covering material 7extending along the vertical sides as at 11.

The holding and display device illustrated in Fig. l of the drawings maybe made of any desirable size and, of course may comprise any number ofblocks 3 which in turn may be of any convenient size for the purposesfor which the device has been designed. In use as a holding and displaymeans for various articles of jewelry the articles of jewelry areinserted between the blocks. In Fig. l, merely as one example from amongmany, I have illustrated a cuff link 13 in position inserted betweenadjacent biocks forming, in effect, a slot 15. Since the material ofeach block is compliant it will be easily spread apart upon insertion ofthe article of jewelry between blocks and will maintain the article inupstanding displayed position therein due to the clamping action of thematerial of the adjacent blocks which is distorted by the article and isconstantly urged back into normal and it will be recognized that thedimensions of the device and of the individual blocks will depend uponthe size of the articles to be held thereby.

While the display and holding device which I have illustrated in Figs. 1and 2 of the drawings is highly satisfactory both functionally andesthetically the form of the invention which I have disclosed in Fig. 3of the drawings may be endowed with certain production advantages whichpossibly could not be attained in the design of the invention justdescribed.

In Fig. 3 of the drawings I have illustrated a form of my inventioncomprising a body designated in its entirety by the numeral 17. Thisbody may be formed of plastic foam, such as a polyvinyl chlorideopen-cell formulation, or any other plastic foam or other material whichis characterized by being compliant and resilient, and is provided withan exterior finish producing a decorative visual impression. One of themany advantages which are found in plastic foam and its use for aholding and display device is that it may be extruded or molded into theform necessary for the purpose of this invention as will be explained indetail. It will be appreciated that the extrusion of the body of theholding and display device with the integral decorative finish orcovering will result in substantial production economies and will doaway with substantially all assembly requirements.

The body 17 is extruded or molded to provide the finish or exteriorsurface 19 thereon, which, as I have pointed out constitutes a desirablesubstitute for the separate decorative material 7 described inconnection with the device of Fig. l of the drawings. This finish 19 is,of course, an integral part of the body and is formed thereon in theextrusion or molding step as is well known in the art. The body 17 isformed during the production thereof with a plurality of spaced slots 21which extend from and through the top finish of the body downwardlytherein but are preferably spaced from the bottom of the body. It willnow be apparent that I have provided a body having the plurality ofslots which in effect form the body into a plurality of blocks 23. Inorder to provide rigidity to the body it is preferably mounted in anysuitable way on a relatively rigid supporting base 25.

The holding and display device of Fig. 3 is adapted to receive andmaintain for holding and display purposes a variety of articles ofjewelry in the slots 21. It will be understood that when an article isinserted in the slot the walls of the slot will be laterally expanded ordistorted and since the material of the body is not only compliant butis also resilient the walls of the slot will exert a clamping action onthe inserted article to thereby removably maintain it in position, whenthe article is removed the resiliency of the body will return the wallsof the slot to their normal position.

With this form of my invention the difiiculties of assembly will beeliminated for there will be no time and expense required in usingseparate covering material and adhesively securing the same to the wallsof the rectangular blocks which form the body of the device. It is alsoto be noted that there will be no danger or possibility of thedecorative material becoming detached from the body to thereby detractfrom the decorative effect of the device.

In Figs. 4 and 5 I have disclosed a further form which my invention maytake. In this form of my invention I provide a body designated generallyby the numeral 27 which is preferably formed of plastic foam or anyother suitable material having the same characteristics as thatdescribed in connection with Fig. 3 of the drawings. The body 27 ispreferably formed by a molding or extrusion process, however in thisform of the invention the body need not be formed with the integralexterior finish as was the body 17 of the holding and display deviceillustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The body 27 is formed with aplurality of spaced slots 29 which extend downwardly through the uppersurface of the body and are formed at their lower ends with an annularcavity 31, which is spaced upwardly a distance from the bottom of thebody.

I provide a decorative covering material 33 for lending a decorativeappearance to the holding and display device. The decorative covering isattached to the body at each end thereof as at 35 by means of anadhesive or in any other suitable manner, however the covering materialis not adhesively attached at any other locations to the body.

In order to attach the remainder of the covering material to the body Iprovide a solid cylindrical core or keying element 37 for each slot andcavity, 29 and 31 respectively. Each core is formed of plastic foam orsimilar compliant and resilient material. The covering material isspread over the body and is inserted in the slots 29 as at 41 by anysuitable means. A core or keying member 37 which is of greater diameterthan the width of the slots is inserted in each slot and forceddownwardly therein until it is received and seated in the cavity 31 atthe bottom of the slot. As the core is forced downwardly in the slot thecompliant and resilient plastic foam of the body will be distorted, withpossibly some distortion of the core, to thereby permit passage of thecore into the bottom cavity. After the core is seated in the cavity thewalls of the slot will assume their normal vertical position. Since thecavity is of substantially the same diameter as the core the latter willbe snugly received and maintained therein and since the coveringmaterial 33 extends around each core in each slot it will be heldtherein and tautly pulled over the exterior surface of the body, beinganchored at each end of the body as at 35. Thus the core in each cavityanchors the covering material and ensures that it will 6 extend and bemaintained in smooth condition over the exterior surface of the body. Infinishing the device the body may be fastened in any desirable manner toa relatively rigid supporting base 43.

The holding and display device which has been described may be producedin various shapes and designs and still fall within the spirit and scopeof my invention and it may, of course, be provided with a cover of anyappropriate type and design.

It will now be clear that I have greatly improved the means for securingthe covering material to the body, I have eliminatedthe need for a slowand tedious adhering process and have provided an arrangement wherebyautomatic machinery may be used for securing and positioning thematerial to the body and in the slots thereof.

I claim:

1. A holding and display device including a body formed of compliant andresilient material, a plurality of spaced slots formed in said body andextending through the upper surface thereof and downwardly therein andadapted to removably receive and maintain articles therein, and eachslot being formed with a cavity at the lower end thereof enlarged withrespect to the slot, a covering material stretched over the exteriorsurface of said body and extended into said slots and cavities and amember of substantially the same configuration as that of each cavitypositioned in each of said cavities to maintain said material in eachslot and cavity and stretched over the exterior surface of the body.

2. A holding and display device in accordance with claim 1 wherein saidcavity is circular and said member is formed of compliant and flexiblematerial and is of cylindrical configuration.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,135,088 Weinstein Apr. 13, 1915 1,305,241 Hendry May 27, 19191,618,561 Warner Feb. 22, 1927 2,464,161 Trachtenberg Mar. 8, 19492,663,527 Joslyn Dec. 22, 1953 2,663,911 Waag et a1. Dec. 29, 19532,797,806 Davis July 2, 1957

